Package for sheet material



Ma 24, 1938. I

w. GRESENZ PACKAGE FOR SHEET MATERIAL Filed Jan. 50, 1955- Patented May 24, 1938 PACKAGE FOR SHEET MATERIAL William A. Gresenz, Neenah, Wis., assignor to International Oellucotton Products Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Application January 30, 1935, Serial No. 4.1l8

2 Claims.

This invention relates to sheet material packages and more particularly to packages-for interfolded sheets such as cleansing tissue sheets.

The main object of the invention is to provide a package, especially a relatively deep package, from which interfolded sheets may be withdrawn one at a tin e and which will afford convenient access to the sheets to facilitate withdrawal thereof, especially when the bottom of the stack of sheets is being approached.

In general, it is the object of the invention to provide an improved interfolded sheet packaging, and other objects and advantages will appear by reference to the following specificationand accompanying drawing wherein there is illustrated a package of interfolded cleansing tissue sheets embodying a selected form of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective of a completed unopened package.

Fig. 2 is a perspective'similar to Fig. 1, but showing the package opened and in condition for dispensing the sheets, and

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawing, the improved package includes a heavy paper or cardboard container or box 5 which includes a top wall 6 and a front side wall 1. The ends 8, 8 of the package are indicated as being formed of overlapping flaps and it will be understood that any conventional paper'box construction may be employed in forming the box.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with packages wherein the box has a depth which is so great that it would be inconvenient or impractical to reach sheets at the bottom of the box through a conventional narrow dispensing slot in the top wall. In this instance, the depth of the box is illustrated as approximating its width. In the practical art, packages such as herein contemplated are approidmately 5 inches in width.

The top wall of the container is longitudinally scored or perforated along a line, as indicated at 9, which is disposed a short distance rearwardly from the front edge of the top wall. In one practical embodiment, the score line 9 may be about one and one-sixteenth inches from the front edge of a box four and three-quarters inches wide and it may be about four and three-quarters inches long in a box te'n inches long. Short score lines indicated at Ill, l0 extend longitudinally and forwardly from the ends of the score line 9 and they are joined to the front top corner of the box by curved lines H which are preferably continuously severed or slit instead of being scored.

The adjacent or front side wall I is provide with score lines l2, l2 which extend transversely across about one-half the depth of the box, and a 5 longitudinally extending score line l3 which is connected to the inner or lower ends of the lines l2, l2 by means of curved slits l1, IT. The upper end of the score lines I2, l2 are respectively connectcd to the respectively adjacent slits II, II by 0 score lines l4, M which are located in the corner fold of the box. It will be'seen that the score lines 9, l0, ll, I2, l3 and i4 outline a dispensing opening, an elongated narrow portion of which is located in the top wall of the container and a 15 transversely extending shorter portion of which is located in the front wall 1. When the top and instance the sheets are shown in interfolded re- 5- lation, each sheet being folded approximately at its middle. In the interfolding of such sheets, two connected tissue webs are continually interfolded, said webs being provided with incomplete lines' of severance such as indicated at l5, said 30 lines of severance permitting easy separation of one sheet from another.. As a practical matter, the location of the incomplete lines of severance does not always occur at a fold line and as clearly shown in Fig. 3, such incomplete lines of severance 35 may be located in spaced relation to the folds so that each sheet may embody a second fold providing a narrow marginal portion as indicated.

To withdraw sheets singly and successively from the container, the uppermost fold of one of 40 the sheets is pulled upwardly through the elongated dispensing opening in the top wall, as will be understod from an inspection of Fig. 3, where the leading end portion of such uppermost fold is indicated at l6. By continued withdrawal of the 45 leading fold l6 through the dispensing slot, the uppermost fold ll of the next interfolded sheet will also be automatically threaded through the dispensing opening. When the leading fold l'l reaches the position in which the leading fold it 50 is illustrated, the latter will be so far withdrawn that it may be separated from its following sheet at the incomplete line of severance l5, leaving the fold l! in approximately the position in which the fold i5 is illustrated in Fig. '3.

When the container is nearly emptied it often happens that the projecting leading sheet end slips back through the dispensing opening so as to necessitate reaching into the container to retrieve such leading sheet end. This is facilitated by the provision of the slot or opening portion in the front wall.

It will, of course, be apparent that it is contemplated that the sheets should be withdrawn through the elongated top wall slot, but when the package is nearly empty, sheets may also be withdrawn through the front wall slot or partially through both slots. The softness of cleansing tissue sheets such as contemplated, permits them to be more or less rumpled as required to pass through the restricted slots. The pointed ends of the dispensing opening operate to resist withdrawal of a second sheet merely as an incident to withdrawal of the leading or first sheet substantially as explained in my Patent No. 1,935,905.

The roughness of the slot edges incident to the formation of the opening by means of score lines also tends to assist in holding the sheets from accidental withdrawal through the slots merely as an incident to withdrawal of a preceding sheet. Said pointed ends and said rough or fuzzy edges also serve to resist slipping of the projecting sheet portions rearwardly into the box.

The provision of fully slitted junctions H between the score lines In and 14 serves to insure tearing of the strip along the score lines by making it easier for the strip to come out of the box along the intended lines than to tear in continuation, for example, of the score lines M, M in the top front corners of the box.

Removal of the narrow strip within the lines bounding the dispensing opening in the top wall of the box is facilitated by the provision of the tab-like formation in the front side wall. Said tab-like formation is easily separable from the front wall by the application of slight force to the tab portion adjacent the surrounding score lines, and being integrally connected to the side of the narrow strip of the dispensing opening area, permits tearing of the latter from the box top by a transversely directed pull.

Changes in the described structure may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. A package of sheet material comprising a paper board box of greater length than width and of a depth approximating its width, said box having a top wall provided with an elongated, narrow area bounded by a scored line spaced rearwardly from the front edge of said top wall, outwardly and forwardly inclined scored lines extending from the opposite ends of said rearwardly disposed scored line, another scored line located in the corner formed between the top wall of the box and the front wall thereof, the front wall of the box being provided with spaced scored lines extending downwardly from said corner scored line and a longitudinally extending scored line connecting the lower ends of said downwardly extending scored lines, the top and front wall portions surrounded by said scored line being removable to provide an elongated, narrow dispensing opening of such proportions as to make it impracticable for a hand to be inserted in the box to withdraw sheets therefrom when the supply thereof is partially exhausted, and an opening in the front wall communicating and cooperating with a portion of said dispensing opening to form an access opening through which a hand may readily be inserted for removing sheetsfrom the box when the supply thereof is low.

2. In a dispensing carton particularly adapted for dispensing sheet material, generally rectangular top, bottom, side, and end sections which are joined together to define the walls of a box having the general form of a right rectangular prism, said top section being provided with a narrow, elongated, removable dispensing portion, said portion being so narrow as to make it difflcult for a hand to be inserted in said box to withdraw sheets therefrom when the supply thereof is partially exhausted, and said portion extending longitudinally of said top section adjacent one of the longitudinal edges of said box, said dispensing portion having a length substantially less than the length of said top section, and the ends thereof being spaced a substantial distance from the ends of said top section, the side section adjacent said last mentioned edge being provided with a centrally located, downwardly extending, removable access portion of sufficient size to permit the hand of the user of said carton to be inserted therein, said dispensing portion and said access portion being outlined by connecting 

